Tickets

Hypothetical situation and "public safety" ...

I hate to think of tickets as being bored cops and money for their jurisdiction, but sometimes that is just the way it comes across ...

Imagine this scenario ...

You drive a beat up older car that really needs a tune up ... it is running roughly and sometimes stalls out ...

So, you pull up to a stop sign one morning and the car idles hard and is about to stall ... you tap the accelerator to keep it from stalling ... maybe you don't hold the brake down real hard and the vehicle jumps a bit ... your stop is very, very brief, but you pull around the corner anyway ... and there is a cop right there ...

The cop pulls you over ... it has been a decade since you were last pulled over ... you hand over your information and are very, very polite ... you explain exactly what just happened, including the tune up being overdue ... you do not argue with the officer ...

Do you get a stern warning?

After all, it is an early morning in Summer and no one was around.

After all, you aren't arguing with the officer, but you really do think that you stopped, even if very briefly.

After all, there is no "public safety" issue at hand here, a stern warning will serve its purpose wince the officer can see that you are not a driver with outstanding tickets, etc ...

No, it is clear that "public safety" is of secondary concern and that raising money for the jurisdiction is far more important. He writes you a ticket for $124 and suggests that you mitigate or dispute it while thanking you for being polite ...

Maybe you can take a day off from work to fight it ...

Maybe your insurance won't mind ...

Maybe you'll just pay it and the city will get money ...

And later you see the same officer writing another ticket in the same area and you realize that he is only out there to raise money for the jurisdiction ...

Do you fight the ticket? You should ...